News Blog

Legionnaires’ disease is a powerful pathogen that can easily spread
through the air conditioning system.

Citing insufficient manpower and low budgets, hotel
operators are guilty of negligence of the most basic health and safety checks
in their hotel air conditioning units. From hotel owners to senior engineers
there is little enthusiasm or willpower to act responsibly.

Not enough is being done to clean and sanitize air
conditioning equipment. Annual cleaning is a minimum. Inspections by outside
engineers have found black mould and dangerous bacteria in Asia’s hotels some
showing signs of not being cleaned in decades. Air quality is compromised.
Spores and microscopic pathogens like Legionnaires’ disease –known killers – go
unchecked.

Hotel operators have failed to act and there is
evidence that some local operators ignore public safety. Even top-level
management at head offices fail to act to deal with air quality issues that are
known to cause illness, preferring to ignore the problem rather than tackle it
head-on.

The problems have been well documented by shocked
engineers specializing in air handling equipment. Hotel operators in Asia
continue to ignore the warning signs. Guests health and safety is often
compromised.

Experts described this inactivity by hotel
operators as a scandal, hotel operators are unwilling to admit that a problem
exists. It’s considered nonessential work and is only paid lip-service.

The air we breathe contains millions of microscopic
organisms. The vast majority are harmless, however, given the right conditions
of moisture and heat they can turn nasty. Black mould can develop and
responsible engineers have ways to tackle the problem. Today this can be done
without the use of hazardous chemicals like acids that produce dangerous fumes
and damage equipment.

Turning a blind eye to public safety is not new in
Asia. There is little enforcement. Too few resources and its low priority
status means that inspections are few and far between.

And it’s not just Asia. As recently as 2015 a
spectacular failure in a New York hotel led to 10 people’s death in an outbreak
of Legionnaires’ disease. More than 100 people were hospitalized. A stark
warning to hotels in Asia where the dangers are so often ignored and there are fewer
inspections.

HUNDREDS
of British holidaymakers had to change hotels after an outbreak of the deadly
Legionnaires’ disease.

Travel
firm Tui acted after the scare last week at the four-star Suncity hotel in
Oludeniz, Turkey. Some
guests had been diagnosed with the waterborne illness when they returned to the
UK, the company confirmed. Tui said the move was “precautionary”, adding: “We
audit all of the hotels to ensure they meet our high standards.”

A TUI
spokeswoman said: “We were made aware a small number of holidaymakers who
returned to the UK have been diagnosed with Legionnaires Disease, following a
stay at the Suncity Hotel in Oludeniz.
As per our standard procedures, we are working with the hotel management to
conduct the relevant risk assessment. As a precautionary measure, all customers
have been relocated to alternative accommodation. We closely audit all of the
hotels to which we operate to ensure they meet our high health and safety
standards, and we would like to reassure customers that situations such as this
are extremely rare.”

Health experts are examining six cases of
Legionnaires' diseases in Tamworth which could be linked to a "common
source".

Two patients are "recovering" from the illness, caused by
bacteria commonly associated with water systems, Public Health England (PHE)
said. It is also examining four other cases in the town over the past six
months, where the patients have recovered. Experts are taking detailed
histories of where the people visited.

Dr David Kirrage, lead consultant with PHE West Midlands Health
Protection Team, said: "While we do not currently have a direct link
between these cases, the evidence we have points to the possibility that there
is a common source."

Dr Kirrage said they were looking to see whether a common local source
of infection would be found. He said Legionnaires' disease was a rare but
"potentially life-threatening illness", which cannot be passed from
person to person.

"As a precaution we are working with the Health and Safety
Executive and Tamworth Borough Council to identify and control any possible
sources of the disease," he said.

Early symptoms include a flu-like illness with muscle aches, tiredness,
headaches and fever which can lead to pneumonia.

A Devon health care centre has been closed after Legionella
bacteria was discovered in taps. Further tests are being carried out at Paignton
Health and Wellbeing Centre in the old Paignton hospital building in Church
Street.

The local NHS advised anyone in a high-risk group who
develops a cough or fever above 38C after visiting the centre to contract their
GP.

A statement from the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation
Trust said it was carrying out more testing and remedial work. It said in a
statement: “Although it is normal for Legionella bacteria to be present in
older buildings and any risk to people in outpatient settings is minimal, we
have decided as a precaution to cancel clinics at Paignton Health and Wellbeing
Centre while we carry out further testing and remedial works. Our swift actions
will prevent the possibility of infection; however, anyone who has a
compromised immune system or is pregnant and develops a cough/fever above 38
degrees after a recent clinic attendance at Paignton Health and Wellbeing
Centre should seek advice from their GP, as there is a urine test for
Legionella, performed at Torbay hospital and Legionella can be treated with
antibiotics.”

Dr Selina Hoque, Director of Infection Prevention and
Control at the trust, said: “We carry out regular testing of all our estate
buildings, and are closing Paignton Health and Wellbeing Centre as a
precautionary measure to minimise the risk to our staff and patients. We hope
to re-open Paignton Health and Wellbeing Centre on Wednesday 5 September once
we have checked that decontamination of the building has been completed. We
apologise for any inconvenience caused by the short notice cancellations, but
protecting people’s health and safety is our first consideration. We will
reschedule cancelled clinics as soon as possible, and in the meantime, anyone
who has any queries about their appointment should contact the number given on
their clinic letter.”

All 62 residents of Vincent Naughton Court, which houses people aged 55
and over, are in the process of being moved to temporary accommodation after
regular tests revealed a "high reading" of Legionella. No cases of
Legionnaires' disease have been reported at the site - but the bacteria can
cause serious illness, particularly in older people.

Sanctuary Housing, which manages the building on Rodney Street, Birkenhead, said
the problem was discovered on Friday morning. A spokesman said: "Through
our regular water testing at Vincent Naughton Court we identified a high
reading of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

We immediately alerted United Utilities, Wirral Council, Public Health
England and the Health and Safety Executive and have been supporting the 62
residents to temporarily move out of the building to allow remedial work and
subsequent re-testing to take place. While no cases of Legionnaires’ disease
have been reported, as the Legionella bacteria can cause serious illness,
particularly in older people, we are taking the precautionary step of moving
everyone into temporary accommodation while we eradicate the risk. We
anticipate that residents will remain in their temporary accommodation while
the issue is resolved and we are providing them with support and advice,
including covering their day to day living costs."

United Utilities moved to reassure the public that the contaminated
water was confined to internal systems in the Vincent Naughton Court building. A
spokesman said: "This appears to be an entirely private matter involving
internal pipework and not a problem with the mains water supplied to the site.

A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: "Upon being informed of the
discovery of legionella at Vincent Naughton Court in Birkenhead, the council
has assisted Sanctuary Housing through its environmental health services and
its adult social care service, which is provided by Wirral Community NHS
Foundation Trust."

The spa area of Avoniel Leisure Centre had to close on
three occasions, with follow-up water tests after these closures accounting for
additional failed tests.

Day-to-day running of Belfast's leisure centres was
outsourced to social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) in 2015. GLL said:
"Routine water samples of the spa pool are carried out on a monthly basis
to ensure the highest compliance with health and safety legislation. The spa
pool and infrastructure at Avoniel is much older than at other leisure centres
and requires a lot more maintenance resulting in more closures, as pipework
needs to be updated and maintained.

"Following some of the closures in 2017, a full
overhaul of the system was carried out in partnership with Belfast City
Council. As part of GLL and Belfast City Council's continued commitment to
investing and maintaining some of the older leisure facilities in Belfast, a
refurbishment of the pool and pool tank at Avoniel was also completed this
week."

Figures show all incidents of unsatisfactory levels of
Legionella were found since GLL took over the management of Belfast's leisure
centres in January 2015. There were two other incidents where unsatisfactory
levels of Legionella were found in Belfast spa pools, both at Shankill Leisure
Centre, on June 25, 2015 and October 17, 2016. Neither of these incidents
required the pool to be closed.

Belfast City Council said: "Health and safety at
leisure centres is a top priority for both Belfast City Council and GLL, which
operates the centres on our behalf. Environmental health officers take water
samples routinely from all pools on a regular basis which are then sent to an
outside laboratory for testing. When the results are returned any necessary
action is taken immediately. As part of the council's strategic partnership
with GLL and the independent Active Belfast Board we meet regularly to review
service standards and performance through a range of mechanisms and are
confident that GLL operates within all health and safety guidelines."

In April GLL defended itself against claims from union
Unite - which represents some workers in the leisure centres - that changes to
staff practices had resulted in thousands of pounds worth of damage at leisure
facilities. Addressing staff numbers, GLL said it had increased the number of
pool plant operators from 15 to 55 since taking over the operation, which has
increased the number of pool plants operators on shift across its 14
facilities.

"An independent review of leisure centre operations
was carried out in 2017 and no evidence was found to suggest that GLL operates
outside of health and safety legislation or guidance," GLL added.

Hotels
and other popular tourist haunts have been warned to tighten up their
precautions this summer after a near 50% spike in the number of legionnaires’
disease cases reported in Spain last year.

While not
all registered cases involved tourists, the National Association of
Environmental Health Businesses (Anecpla) said that the arrival of summer with
high temperatures and increased use of air conditioning highlighted the need to
“maximise controls” on cooling systems where the bacteria breed.

Eight
people died in Spain in 2017 from the disease in what was the second worst year
in a decade, while the number of reported cases soared to nearly 1,500 from
just over 1,000 in 2016 according to figures from the National Centre for
Epidemiology. One of the worst outbreaks happened in early autumn when
eight hotels were affected in the town of Palmanova on the island of Mallorca. It
caused a wave of cancellations, especially in its leading incoming tourism market,
the UK, after British travel agents’ clients were advised to steer clear of the
resort.

In its
warning, Anecpla pointed out not only the dangers from hotel, spa and other
accommodation systems but also less obvious ones such as those used by restaurants
and bars on their outdoor terraces. Another area prone to propagating the
disease was the very place tourists went to in the case of falling ill, namely
hospitals and clinics. “All (systems) are susceptible to provoke a possible
outbreak of legionnaires’,” said the Director General of Anecpla, Milagros
Fernández de Lezeta.

The
association said the need for regular maintenance was underscored by the 2017
figures which showed that ‘it’s not all being done as well as it should be’.

One
specialist company Stenco said that since 2013 there had been “a growing trend
in Spain that broke the progressive fall in cases that had taken place since
2002.” It also pointed out that ‘data declared from other European Union
countries has also revealed a major increase when compared to previous years’.

The bacteria was found in shower heads in facilities used by
crew members in the Pride of Kent. Pipes are now being flushed through in an
attempt to rid the cross channel ferry of the organisms.

The Pride of Kent, which operates between Dover and Calais,
was pulled out of action after smashing into the Port of Calais last December
during Storm Ania.

A P&O spokesman said the bacteria was found in May
during routine tests.

"After its return to service after a five month
absence, we conducted routine tests on the Pride of Kent and found low levels
of Legionella bacteria in three shower heads in the crew quarters. This is
being dealt with by the standard process of super-chlorination followed by the
flushing through of the pipes. It is important to note that Legionella bacteria
is naturally occurring in water and at these levels there is minimal risk to
passengers or crew."

Tests are being carried out
after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the hot water supplies at a flats
complex housing hundreds of residents. The bacteria - which causes legionnaires'
disease - was discovered at Stoke-on-Trent's West End Village and the
neighbouring HQ of Staffordshire Housing Association (SHA), on London Road,
last week.

SHA has written to the complex's
300-plus residents to stress that the problem is confined to the development's
communal areas which include a cafe and restaurant, hairdressers, gym, meeting
rooms and a hydrotherapy pool. It led to the temporary closure of the
restaurant and cafe and hairdressers and the gym continues to have no hot
showers. Now tests are continuing at the complex until Thursday, May 17 as
environmental health continues to monitor the situation.

Residents have praised the swift
action to contain the bacteria. Sue Owen, aged 66, who has lived at West End
Village for seven years, said: "We had a letter telling us what was going
on and it hasn't affected the flats. They have done some work and the
businesses were up and running after a day."

SHA has confirmed that 'evidence
of some Legionella bacteria in the communal hot water system' was discovered on
May 3 following routine tests. Director of Housing Service Tim Sheail said:
"We were advised to shutdown hot water supplies to the communal areas
until the problem could be eradicated. This did not affect individual
apartments within West End Village but involved the hot water supplies to the
kitchens and toilets in the offices and the communal areas of the village. We
immediately isolated the hot water taps in the affected areas, informed staff
and delivered letters to all of the residents explaining what was happening. We
used a specialist water hygiene company to treat the affected hot water
cylinder the following day. We have advised residents that the treatment and
re-testing process should mean the hot water system will be back to normal by
the end of next week. It takes a few days because it involves a laboratory testing
process and the bacteria can take a few days to incubate.”

"We have installed
alternative forms of hot water heating to the restaurant kitchen, in
consultation with environmental health, and we have provided alternative hot
water to the hairdressers, so their business would not be disrupted. This was all completed
within 24 hours of shutting off the hot water supplies. We informed the gym
manager on the day we found the problem and provided a notice for external
customers explaining that hot water showers would not be available while we
resolve this problem.”

"Staff have been available
to answer any residents’ concerns and most have been reassured by the fact that
this did not affect their own hot water system."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has
inspected the hot water supply to the cafe and restaurant and hairdressers and
is happy with the temporary arrangement.

Royal United
Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £300,000 after failing to
control the risk to patients from exposure to Legionella bacteria in its water
systems.

Bristol Crown Court
heard how, in July 2015, Mr Terence Brooks, a 68-year-old patient at Bath’s
Royal United Hospital, died from Legionnaires’ disease. Following Mr Brooks’
death, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation which
found that the Trust had failed to put in place all of the necessary
precautions to minimise the risk to patients in the annex to the William Budd Ward from exposure to Legionella.

HSE’s investigation
revealed that the annex to the William Budd Ward is on a separate loop of the
hospital’s water system to that which supplies the main ward. This important
fact had not been recognised by the Trust from the opening of the annex in 2009
until Mr Brooks’ death in July 2015. This failure meant the required
temperature checks and tests for the presence of Legionella bacteria in the
water had not been carried out in the annex over this period.

Tests carried out
after Mr Brooks’ death revealed problems with water temperatures in the annex
and Legionella bacteria were found in water samples taken from outlets in all
five isolation suites in the annex to the William Budd Ward.

The strain of Legionella
bacteria which caused Mr Brooks’ death was not the same as that found in the
water system. However, HSE concluded there was sufficient evidence to prosecute
the Trust for exposing patients to risks from Legionella bacteria in its water
systems.

Royal United
Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1)
of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £300,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £37,451.78.

Speaking after the
hearing, HSE inspector Susan Chivers said: “Legionnaires’ disease is a type of
pneumonia which can be fatal and people who are being treated in hospital are
especially susceptible to infection. That is what makes RUH’s failings in Legionella
management all the more concerning. RUH had measures in
place to prevent and control the risk to its patients from exposure to Legionella
from its water systems, but these were ineffective due to the Trust not having
accurate knowledge of the layout of those water systems.”

“All organisations
have a responsibility to manage their water systems to protect people from the
risk of Legionella infection. It is essential that organisations review their
risk control measures whenever there is reason to suspect that they are no
longer valid or when there are changes to a water system.” After the hearing,
Terence Brooks’ family gave the following statement: “The family are pleased
that the HSE have pursued this and that as a result changes have been made at
the RUH. Our hope is that no other family will suffer as we have.”